Case S178/2012

TCL Air Conditioner (Zhongshan) Co Ltd v. The Judges of the Federal Court of Australia and Anor

Case No.

S178/2012

Case Information

Catchwords

Constitutional law — Judicial power of Commonwealth —Constitution, Ch III — Following an arbitral hearing conducted in Australia in accordance with an agreement between the parties, the second defendant was awarded damages and costs ('arbitral awards') — Second defendant commenced proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia seeking enforcement of the arbitral awards — Plaintiff resisted the enforcement proceedings — Whether Arts 35 and 36 of the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration, read with s 7 and Pt III of the International Arbitration Act 1974 (Cth) ('the provisions') purport to confer the judicial power of the Commonwealth on arbitral tribunals contrary to the requirements of Ch III of the Constitution — Whether the provisions impermissibly interfere with the judicial power of the Commonwealth — Whether the provisions undermine the institutional integrity of Ch III Courts and are thus invalid.